Chutes and Ladders
by Eliss Elusive
Summary: Percy and Annabeth, having broken up before the start of college, never wanted to see each other again. What happens when an unplanned pregnancy forces them back together? Insert Rachel, ghosts, and an over-controlling boyfriend and wait for drama.
1. Chapter 1

**Chutes and Ladders**

_Because I want to write a cliché fluffy story with a touch of seriousness. And for some reason I want to write about characters I dislike. Enjoy._

**Chapter One  
><strong>**Not Expecting Much**

Annabeth Chase should have been in her advanced English studies class, presenting her semester project. It was going to be hell getting Professor Mathor to give her a second chance. Even with the doctor's note she was going to ask for as soon as her physician came back into the examination room.

She rubbed her arms. Her boyfriend – an older guy, a _medical student – _had once explained to her why hospitals and clinics always seemed to be so cold. Of course, Annabeth had a nasty habit of tuning out whatever he said once he got to talking about his career.

Honestly, she hardly cared about how _House _always showed it wrong and how people with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome were usually just a bunch of hypochondriacs. It wasn't as if Zach listened to her when she tried to tell him about her classes – he'd already been a college freshman.

And unless Annabeth got out of this damned doctor's office soon, it looked like freshman year was an experience she was doomed to repeat. Finals week was not the time to pass out on your walk to the campus cafeteria – especially after most teachers explicitly stated that there was absolutely no making up their exams.

She'd skipped supper last night and had stayed up until four in the morning studying for her last few tests – why didn't the doctor understand that? He'd insisted on doing blood work that would _only take a few hours_, but of course Annabeth couldn't leave during that time just in case she had something that was going to kill her in the next few hours.

God, she hated doctors. She hated the person who'd called an ambulance back at Harvard. She hated her dad for not thinking to give her their insurance information in case something like this happened.

And she hated herself for putting herself in this mess.

Annabeth rubbed her stomach and grabbed the backpack that somehow had come with her. Lately, she'd gotten into the habit of carrying food around with her. Finals stress was making her hungrier. That was all.

She grabbed a package of tiny peanut butter cups and ate the bag in less than a minute, then chased it down with a lukewarm Pepsi. A few seconds later, she wished she hadn't. The combination was not sitting well with her stomach.

A quick glance at the clock told Annabeth she'd been here for close to three hours. She'd already beat her high score on _Temple Run, _then beat the new high score, passed three levels of _Angry Birds_, and read the entire last month of _The New York Times _on her iPad.

The nice thing about having a medical student boyfriend who came from a rich family was at least he gave nice early Christmas gifts.

Annabeth sighed and leaned back on the bed. The paper they put over it crinkled every time she moved, and the pillow was hard as a rock. Yet she was so tired that in just a few short seconds she was out.

* * *

><p>Percy Jackson wasn't having a good day. He'd overslept, his car wouldn't start, and after running two miles to get to his class, he found out he'd missed a biology test he hadn't known he had.<p>

At this rate, he was never going to get his bachelor's degree in zoology.

Percy had decided to move to Miami for college in the hope of getting away from everything: his family, his old friends, Annabeth…

Oh, gods. She was one thing he didn't miss. He'd been with Annabeth since he turned 16, and by the time he was 19 and leaving for college, he was ready to pull his hair out. She was over-controlling, demanding, stuck up, and worst of all, patronizing.

Sometimes it had felt like he was dating his mom.

Speaking of which, he checked his phone. 9:59. Right on time, a media message from his mom arrived. He opened it to find a picture of a smiling toddler with dark hair pulled into pigtails. Her mouth and hands were covered with something that looked like pudding.

_Ellie misses her big brother. Maybe you could call home sometime? Are you still coming home for Christmas break? Love, Mom._

Percy bit his lip and closed the message, not bothering to try and come up with a message. His mom sent him a message at 10:00 every morning, but he could count the number of times he'd responded on one hand.

He didn't like talking to his family. It made him homesick, simple as that. And the funny thing was, three months ago he'd felt like being around his mom and her husband, as well as their new daughter, was a slow death.

It was funny how things changed.

Percy's phone buzzed again. If it was his mom calling, he'd answer, he promised himself. However, it was another text message, from a name he hadn't expected to see ever again.

_Annabeth._

When he'd broken up with her, she hadn't exactly taken it well. She'd cursed him in two different languages, thrown a plate at his head, and then made it painstakingly clear that she'd never wanted to see him again.

So half-expecting his phone to blow up or something, Percy opened the message.

_You need to call me._

Percy gritted his teeth. _You need to call me? _Why couldn't she just have called him? And really, besides people who were over 30, who used proper spelling and grammar while texting? God, she was a prick.

And he wasn't going to respond.

Percy tucked his phone back into his pocket and went to go talk to his very disagreeable biology teacher. Hopefully he'd be able to make up his test. And if not, Percy would just have to remind him that if he failed Percy, he'd have to teach him again next year.

It usually worked.

But for some reason, Percy had an undeniable feeling of dread sinking into his stomach.

* * *

><p>Lately, Rachel Elizabeth Dare's life had been one bad decision after another.<p>

She'd been accepted into a fancy arts school in Boston midway through her senior year. After putting off the decision till the last possible day, she'd ended up flipping a coin to decide whether or not to go. Heads had been yes; tails had been no.

It had come up heads.

Now she was taking classes she could hardly care less about that weren't teaching her a thing. Apparently there was a proper way to paint, and to be honest, Rachel had never been good at following instructions.

Rachel had agreed to let her father buy her a fancy apartment, lest she have to deal with the horrors that came from living in a college dorm. It was meant to buy her affection. It made her wish she had a dad who cared more.

Most of the other students didn't like her. She was a rich girl, someone who wasn't attending on scholarship. She didn't have to go on the Raman diet to make ends meet and buy all of her art supplies used.

It was funny how art school was the one place money couldn't buy her friends.

Art school had been bad decision number one.

And little did she know, she was about to make bad decision number two.

Rachel came home after a long day of school to her empty apartment – reason number 542 she didn't like living on her own: it was always so lonely. The counter of the kitchen was covered with pastels and half-painted canvases, as well as bits of clay sculptures she'd started.

She cleared off a space and dumped the contents of her backpack. There were projects she needed to do and papers she needed to write, but she hardly cared. Terribly, part of her thought if she started failing, her father could fix it with a nice donation to the school.

No, she wasn't going to be that kind of girl.

But still, she was tired. Projects could wait. She was going to take a hot bath and go to sleep. Tomorrow was Friday, and she'd have the whole weekend to worry about getting caught up in her classes.

Rachel bit her lip and grabbed her phone. Of course, she had no new messages. She never did. Her only friend was on the other side of the country, and he was probably busy with all of the friends he'd undoubtedly made.

She'd thought about texting him a few times, but could never bring herself to bother him. At first, she'd told herself it was because he'd just broken up with Annabeth and she didn't want to be the rebound. Then she told herself too much time had passed and he'd probably forgotten about her.

What happened next was the cliché moment that only happened in movies. Her phone began to vibrate, and it was the one person she wanted to hear from.

Rachel hit answer and placed the phone to her ear. "Hey," she said, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Rachel…" She swore her heart skipped a beat when he said her name. "I…uhh…I don't know how to say this."

Her voice caught in her throat. As much as she was hoping for some good news from Percy, something in his voice told her it wasn't going to come. "Okay, well…" she started, then trailed off. "Are you in trouble?" she finally asked.

"Kind of." There was an awkward silence. "Actually, yeah."

"What did you do?"

"I'm flying into Boston tonight," Percy said, ignoring her question. "All of the hotels are booked. Can I stay with you?"

"Yeah, sure. But you're going to have to give me a fair warning if I'm harboring a fugitive or something," Rachel said, trying to keep her voice light.

"Oh, gods. It's nothing like that. But maybe that would be easier. I don't know. Rachel, I don't know what I'm going to do."

That was when Rachel had one of those moments that she couldn't explain, where something just suddenly came to her. It was a side effect of being the oracle, or so Apollo told her. But at a time like this, Rachel wished she could remain oblivious.

"Percy, Annabeth's pregnant…isn't she?"

A silence stretched out between them. "My flight arrives at 11:30. I know it's late, but could you pick me up?"

That was all the confirmation she needed.

_Notes: Chapter the first is done. Tell me what you think, lovelies. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two  
><strong>**Unwelcome Company**

Rachel didn't say anything when Percy wordlessly greeted her at the airport.

She bit her tongue while he lugged his small duffel bag to her car. He wasn't planning on staying for long, she induced.

When Percy blankly looked out the window as she battled the late night traffic, she maintained his silence. He had a lot on his mind, she told herself. She'd give him his space.

But by the time they reached her apartment, Rachel couldn't hold it back anymore. "How was your flight?" she asked. It was the most innocent thing she could think to say in a sea of loaded questions.

"Long."

Rachel took her time fishing the key out of her bag, hoping for an elaboration on his response. Of course, she never got one. Percy wasn't one who liked to talk about stressful situations. In the time she'd known him, Rachel had seen him utilize two coping methods: fix or ignore.

She wondered what he was going to do this time.

"I have a guest bedroom you can stay in as long as you need to," Rachel said quietly. It was an invitation for him to tell her what his plan was.

"Thanks."

Rachel sighed and opened the door for him, suddenly conscious of how chaotic her apartment must look. "You want to talk?" she asked, for lack of a better idea.

"Does it seem like I want to talk?" Percy demanded, a harsh edge to his voice. "I appreciate you letting me stay here, but I really just want to go to sleep."

Rachel pushed back her burning curiosity. "The guest room's just down the hall and to your right," she said.

Percy nodded and wordlessly proceeded down the hallway. There was a noticeable droop to his shoulders, like he was carrying the weight of the world.

And she wasn't sure how she could help him.

* * *

><p>Annabeth was calm and collected.<p>

_Miss Chase, the blood test showed nothing abnormal, however…_

She went to all of her classes like normal and took her finals. She convinced her English teacher to give her a second chance to present her project. When that was done, she went back to her dorm room and began packing her things for winter break.

Things were perfectly fine. Things were normal.

_I assure you, Miss Chase, its' perfectly possible._

Zach called her in the afternoon to ask if she wanted to go out for dinner. She agreed, just like she would have any other night. Of course, he didn't ask her where she wanted to go or even what she was in the mood for. Zach always picked.

He picked her up at 5:00 sharp, as always.

Things were like they'd always been. Nothing had changed.

_I take it this is unexpected news. _

Zach gave her a tight smile when she slid into his car. "You look stressed," he said lightly, almost patronizingly. "I remember what finals were like my freshman year."

Annabeth hadn't told Zach about what had happened yesterday. She'd been hungry and tired, and she'd passed out. It hadn't been anything to worry about. "I had calculus and physics finals today – classes you never took." It was her way of telling him that he had no idea what she was going through.

"I know, Annabeth." The condescension in his tone was undeniable. "But classes only get harder. Today I had a twenty page abnormal psychology final."

That was her cue to ask him how it had gone. She pretended not to notice Zach would tell her anyway – her inquiring about it was nothing more than a formality.

Just like always.

_We'll have to have you come back for a few tests._

Annabeth sighed and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Over the course of the day, she'd been bombarded with text after text, all because in a moment of panic she had called the last person on earth she wanted to be put in this situation with.

_I flew into Boston last night._

_Can I see you?_

_Please. We need to talk._

_Annabeth. I didn't fly across the country so you could ignore me._

That had been the first hour of her day. Needless to say, she hadn't responded to any of his messages. Eventually, he'd get the hint and leave. Nothing was wrong. There was no reason for him to be here.

"-and then there were the case studies we had to do, but…Annabeth, you seem distracted," Zach finished, not even taking his eyes off the road to look at her.

"I am."

An awkward silence hung as Zach waited for her to elaborate. She wasn't going to.

"Is everything fine?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Annabeth could lie to herself.

The only problem was she'd always been a bit of a skeptic.

* * *

><p>Percy was slowly going crazy.<p>

He'd never been one to think things through, but this had to have been his worst mistake so far. He'd decided to fly across the country without even getting an address that he could reach Annabeth at. She wasn't responding to his texts, either.

And it wasn't as if he'd sent, oh, over a hundred.

Rachel had tiptoed around him in the morning, and she hadn't said anything to him since she got back from school. That reminded him of the finals he was missing. He wondered what that was going to do to his already poor grades.

All because he didn't think.

Percy didn't get how _it _could have happened. He didn't pretend to be an expert on these things, but he hadn't been with Annabeth since the first week of September – right around the time they'd broken up. Shouldn't she have known earlier if…

Gods, he couldn't even think it.

It had been half an hour since Percy had last texted her. Hoping for any kind of response, he sent her another message. _Please just tell me what's going on. _

"You seem a bit tense," a vaguely familiar voice said.

Percy jerked his head around to find himself face to face with a god. "Hermes," he breathed, taking in the god's disheveled appearance, from the worn jogging suit to the curly hair that seemed to have more gray than the last time Percy had seen him.

"I did knock," Hermes said, a semblance of sheepishness in his tone. "But no one answered, so I just let myself in."

"How did you know I was here?"

"The girl told me. She also asked me to ask you what you'd like for supper."

"No…not here." Percy shook his head and waved his hand in the air. "I mean, on this side of the country."

"All of the gods know you're here." There was a slight twinkle in his eye as he handed Percy a dark blue envelope. It had his name and an unfamiliar address written on it – Rachel's apartment, he deduced. "Your father sent this for you."

"Because it would be such a pain in the ass to just pick up a phone," Percy said under his breath, tossing it onto the stand next to his bed. "I don't mean to sound…disrespectful, but I don't care what he has to say."

"He cares about you, Percy."

"Oh, yeah. How could I forget?" Being so blasé with a god was asking for trouble, but Percy couldn't keep the heavy sarcasm out of his voice. "Do you care about your children, Hermes? Because as I remember, it was your son who-"

"Percy. We've changed."

"No, you haven't."

Percy had made the gods promise there would be no more unclaimed children. There would be a cabin at Camp Half-Blood for every god, no matter how minor. The gods had agreed. They would be good parents – they would care about their children.

Two years later, the summer before his senior year of high school, Percy had gone back to the camp to see how things were.

They were exactly like how they'd been. The gods had forgotten how close they'd been to falling because of their ignorance.

That was when Percy had decided he was going to go to school on the west coast – anything to get away from all of it.

"Your father doesn't know why you've come back."

Percy took a deep breath. "Do you?"

Hermes frowned and stared at the floor. "The girl told Apollo, and he told me." Before Percy could say anything, Hermes cut him off. "Don't be angry with her, Percy. The relationship between Apollo and his oracle is complex."

"Just promise me Poseidon doesn't know."

"I swear to you, Percy, to the best of my knowledge he doesn't."

Percy turned his back on the god. "Then you can leave."

When he was sure Hermes had left, Percy stormed out of his room and down the hall. Rachel was sitting in the living room, a blank canvas spread out in front of her and a tray of paints at her side. "The hibernating bear leaves his cave," she joked, giving him a small smile.

He wasn't in the mood for niceties. "You had to tell Apollo, huh?" he said, getting straight to the point.

Rachel's face fell. "Percy…I…it's…"

"It's my life, Rachel. Stay out of it."

Rachel stood up and marched towards Percy. At full height, she only came up to his chest. However, there was still something intimidating about her. "Okay, let me just pick you up at the airport late at night and welcome you into my home so you can ignore me and keep to yourself."

"It's none of your business!"

"I'm your friend!"

Their eyes locked, a silent battle taking place.

Finally, Percy looked away. "I thought you were." He began heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"It's none of your business."

Percy slammed the door and stormed down the stairs. He had no idea where he was going – he didn't even realize that he'd left all of his clothes and toiletries in his duffel bag in Rachel's apartment. Even if it had occurred to him, there was no turning back.

It was late at night, and Percy had all of $50 in his wallet. Rachel didn't exactly live in a dumpy part of town – he'd have to walk for a while if he was going to find a hotel for that price.

Well, he better get started.

That was when he felt a vibrating feeling in his pocket. His phone – his phone! Trying not to get his hopes up, he grabbed it. Annabeth's name on the screen was like a shining beacon of hope.

"Annabeth!" he said, eagerly pressing the phone to his ear.

"Percy, listen closely because I'm only going to say this once. Nothing is wrong. Calling you was a mistake. You need to go back home because-"

Whatever she said next, Percy didn't hear it.

He'd fallen to the ground, unconscious after a hard blow to the head.

The teen behind him smiled, grabbing rope out of his backpack. That had been easy.

Almost too easy.

_Notes: DUN DUN DUN..I bet you thought this was just going to be one of those cute fluffy pregnancy stories. Not exactly. In case you haven't noticed, we've got a darker Percy featured in this story. His outlook on life sure has taken a beating. Anyway, reviews are love and great inspiration, but you know that. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three  
><strong>**Philosophy and Reality**

_"Death may be the greatest of all human blessings." _

_~ Socrates_

"Percy, listen closely because I'm only going to say this once. Nothing is wrong. Calling you was a mistake. You need to go back home because there's no reason for you to be here. Understand?" Annabeth asked, not really expecting nor wanting an answer.

She was in the bathroom of an expensive Chinese restaurant, phone pressed against her ear so hard it was painful. A short woman who'd been washing her hands for the last five minutes kept shooting her dirty looks out of the corner of her eye.

It wasn't the ideal setting to tell her former boyfriend to get lost, but then again, it wasn't as if Percy had been considerate back in August when he'd told her he didn't want to ever see her again.

There was no reply on the other end of the phone. Just as well, Annabeth decided. As long as the constant bombardment of texts stopped she'd assume he got the message. She pressed the end button on her phone, took a deep breath, and walked out of the bathroom.

Everything was fine.

The lie was starting to become less convincing.

* * *

><p>Being a personal assistant to the lord of the dead wasn't exactly a glamorous position.<p>

On the other hand, there weren't many professions that would even consider hiring a ghost. And compared to an eternity of doing nothing, the job certainly gained a certain degree of appeal. He even got business cards.

_Luke Castellan_

_Assistant Underworld Guardian_

Okay, the business cards were admittedly very lame. Luke would have to talk with Hades about that, and now was the perfect time. He'd just been called into Hades' castle, throne room, cave…thing. He wasn't exactly sure what it was supposed to be called.

But when Luke entered the cavernous room dominated by Hades' large black throne, all thoughts of business cards left his head. And it didn't even have anything to do with the intimidating 10 foot tall god who made Hitler look like a _Care Bear_ in comparison.

No, what was more distracting was Hades' son, Nico di Angelo, holding an unconscious Percy Jackson. At least Luke assumed he was unconscious. There was the chance he could be dead, but if he were dead, his unconscious body wouldn't be in the Underworld, would it?

It just made more sense for him to be alive, however much sense it didn't make that he was here.

Luke wasn't sure how much sense that last statement had made. He really needed to quit talking with Socrates. Michael Jackson was more fun to hang out with anyway, even if he was suffering from a post-mortem identity crisis. Famous people always did when they realized most of the deceased didn't know them.

"Dad, I, uh, I got him, just like you asked," Nico said, giving Percy a little shake as if there was confusion as to what unconscious teen he was referring to. Luke hadn't seen Nico since before he'd died (or changed his biological status, as some of the more sensitive inhabitants of the Underworld liked to say), and he'd always been a bad judge of age, but it looked as if at least a few years had passed.

"And…?" Hades' voice boomed throughout the cavern, the disappointment in his tone impossible to ignore.

Luke decided it was smarter to play fly on the wall for this conversation, at least until someone noticed him.

"I, umm, I dunno. What else do you want?" Nico asked.

Hades got down from his throne, his black robes swishing dramatically. Luke pressed himself against the wall – he knew a tirade of epic proportions was about to be delivered by his boss. And as much as he hadn't liked Nico when he was alive, he wouldn't wish Hades' wrath on anyone.

Except maybe Frances Lee Jones, who'd been his neighbor when Luke was a little kid. The less said about her, the better.

"Nico Antonio di Angelo, what possible use could I have for Percy Jackson alive?" Hades bellowed. If Luke had been writing Hades' speech out, he would have been tempted to write in all capital letters, except he'd always hated it when authors did that – it made it harder for him to read with his dyslexia.

"I just, you know, thought…"

"You thought? I don't think you know what it means to think about something. Your whole life, not once have you proven to me that there has been so much of an ounce of forethought in anything you've ever done. Don't even try to explain to me your foolish plan. Just try not to make a fool of yourself while I fix this. LUKE!" Hades barked.

Okay, the urge to imagine Hades speaking in all caps when he shouted Luke's name had been impossible to ignore. Luke waited a few seconds, then abandoned his perch on the wall. "Yes, sir," he said with a slight bow.

Nico's eyes widened, as if he'd never seen a ghost before.

"My son has brought Percy Jackson to me. As I'm sure you realize, given the current circumstances, this puts us in an incredibly precarious position."

Luke had no idea what the current circumstances were, nor how incredibly precarious their position was. He'd ask Charon to catch him up on the gossip when he had a minute. For now, he simply nodded. "Of course, sir."

"Until I decide what to do under these pressing conditions, I want you to keep Percy Jackson detained. You are not to let him go under any circumstances. Do you understand me?"

Luke had no idea where he was supposed to detain Percy. "Yes, sir," he said. It wasn't a total lie – he did understand. He just didn't…okay, he was lost. But he'd learned it was best not to let Hades know that and just ask one of the senior guards for help.

He slowly walked towards the center of the cavern, until he was standing next to Nico. In an otherworldly way, it felt weird to be standing next to Percy and Nico – two of the people who'd been instrumental in his, well, _change in biological status_.

Not that there were any hard feelings.

Sarcasm really didn't come across well in text.

"I'll take care of him, sir," Luke said, taking Percy from Nico.

"Very good. Dismissed."

And just like that, it was Luke's time to leave. However, he could hear Hades' shouts directed at his son till he was a good distance away from Hades' palace. Luke almost felt bad for the kid, just like he almost liked being Hades' assistant.

Okay, he really shouldn't have been mentally dissing the guy who signed his paychecks.

Wait, he wasn't even getting paid for this. Another thing he'd have to bring up to Hades, along with the business cards.

He wouldn't forget. _Elephants never forget_, as Plato liked to say.

He really needed to quit playing Saturday night poker with the philosophers.

* * *

><p>Percy woke up with a killer headache and a lingering feeling that something was wrong.<p>

The headache might have been related to the sizeable bump he could feel on the back of his head. He touched it gingerly, but even the tender act sent shooting pain through his skull. He should have remembered how this happened, but the thing with head injuries was they were usually accompanied by this extremely appealing little thing called _memory loss_.

And as for the feeling that something was wrong, well, that could easily be attributed to the fact that on his ankle was a shackle that was attached to the wall. And the wall itself was quite, well, bleak as far as walls went.

There was a slight smell of mildew as well a general feeling of, well, suffering in the air. It made goose bumps form on Percy's arms. He'd only felt something like this once before, a long time ago, when he'd been on a quest for his father and…

Oh shit. He was dreaming. That was the only explanation. Because there was no way he really was in the-

"You can quit pinching yourself. You're really in the Underworld."

Percy jumped. Or at least he would have if he hadn't been chained to the wall. That was a voice he would never forget, a voice that he still sometimes heard in his nightmares.

It couldn't be…but if this really was the Underworld, it was possible…

"Luke?" Percy asked.

"No, Whitney Houston. All those drugs I took did shit on my voice."

Percy looked around, but couldn't see anything. Maybe it was just too dark – he was in the Underworld after all. There was a simple test for that. He waved his hand in front of his eyes, and sure enough, it was visible.

"What have you been doing for the last three years? Ghosts are one of the easiest things for demigods to see. The power to see through the mist can go away, you know? Here, just follow my voice. Now focus."

Percy did as he was told and focused on an empty spot in the air until he could see something start to shimmer. This really was making his headache worse, he thought to himself as the shimmer suddenly morphed into a man.

Percy had seen shades during his brief time in the Underworld, and they'd hardly left an impression – literally. There was something about them that made them fade if you looked at any one for too long, kind of like the ghosts on his old _Mario_ game.

Except that wasn't what Luke looked like. He looked so real, except for the fact that he wasn't breathing. At all. Not like Percy was staring. "I, uh, where are we?"

Luke narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. "The Underworld."

"I meant where specifically in the Underworld."

"A holding cell."

"You have those? Wait, not as important as _why_ I'm in the holding cell."

"I don't know what you did."

"I don't either."

"If I did something to piss off Hades, I'd probably remember."

Percy frowned. "I don't know how I could have. I've been in California for the last three months! But-"

"The most accessible entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."

"As I was saying, I was in Massachusetts when I got…attacked, or something." All of the details blurred together in his mind. He remembered talking to Rachel, and then for some reason he'd gone outside. And from there, he didn't remember anything up until now.

"Nico brought you here. Hades was upset that you were alive," Luke said levelly. Percy wasn't sure if that was supposed to scare him.

"Why?"

"Well, I'd guess that it put him in a bad position. If Nico had killed you already, he could say his son was acting on his own. But now he can't exactly tell Nico to do it without being uninvolved enough to get away with it. Delicate balance between the gods and all." The way Luke talked so calmly, as if they were just discussing the weather, unnerved Percy.

"So how do you fit into it?"

"Why were you in Massachusetts?"

Their eyes locked in a nonverbal battle of wills. Percy looked away first.

"I don't think you're in a position to be asking questions," Luke finally said.

"I don't see a reason to answer yours."

"Suit yourself," Luke said. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. "We've got all of your life to sit here in silence."

Percy locked his jaw and looked away from Luke. If Luke thought he was going to give in, he had another thing coming. Percy could outlast him.

Ten minutes later, Percy was ready to tear his hair out. He blamed it on the ADHD. "I was in Massachusetts because that's where Annabeth's going to school. We broke up back in August and hadn't talked till just a few days ago. But she called me and…" Percy gulped. He had a hard time forcing the words out.

If Percy had been paying closer attention, he would have noticed the way Luke stiffened at the mention of Annabeth's name.

"She told me she's pregnant."

"She what?"

"Yeah, and now she's ignoring me so it's kind of unfortunate that I'm stuck down here when I really should be up there helping her." Percy crossed his arms, an idea forming in his head. "You know, I went to California to get away from everything."

"Looks like that plan worked out well for you."

Okay, this was going to be harder than he'd expected. "Don't you hate working for Hades? That's what you're doing here, right?"

"It's not the worst job I've ever had."

So much for that angle. "Look, I really need to get out of here. If not for me, do it for Annabeth."

Luke's resolve weakened for a second, but when he looked at Percy, there was a hard glint in his eye. "No."

"It's been a long time since you died. Three years, right?"

"Yeah."

"You know they make movies in 3D now."

"I get motion sickness."

"There's been like a hundred more seasons of _Survivor_."

"I've always been more a _Grey's Anatomy_ kind of guy."

"There's an iPad 4 now!"

"An iWhat?"

"Brad and Angelina finally got married."

"I play poker every Saturday night with Greek philosophers."

"Okay, whatever," Percy fumed, pissed that that plan wasn't going to work either. "You know, I think you like it down here. It must be perfect being able to hide from everything, not having to deal with all the shit you left behind."

"I committed suicide so stuff would go back to normal!" Finally, he got something resembling a rise out of Luke.

"I bet that looks killer on a resume."

Luke's face turned bright red. "You know what? Whatever. I'll take you back to the world of the living. You've got one week – that's the longest I think we can slip out before Hades notices. And if you try to ditch me, I'll kill you and I won't think twice about it. Understand?"

Percy gulped, not believing what he was hearing. "Yeah, I mean that sounds-"

"And let me make myself clear, Percy," Luke said as he waved his hand and the shackle binding Percy to the wall vanished. "I'm not doing this for you."

He turned his back on Percy and whispered the next part, so quiet that Percy wasn't sure he was meant to hear. "I'm doing this for Annabeth."

_Notes: And the story intensifies. Darlings, I hope you don't hate me for bringing Luke into this story. I just don't feel like things are complete without him. The whole tension between the gods thing will be explained more in future chapters. Oh, and characters like Grover and Thalia will make appearances at undecided points! Reviews are love and inspiration. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four  
><strong>**Be Somebody**

_I'm never gonna catch my breath.  
><em>_Say goodbye to those who knew me!_

Less than an hour after Percy had left, there was a knock at the door. Rachel debated getting it; most of her important visitors could just appear inside anyway. However, once the knocking became more insistent, she finally got up.

On the other side of the door was Grover. "Hey, is Percy here?" he asked, pushing past her without waiting for an answer. "I was in Massachusetts working on a project and I just, you know, felt his presence. Kind of like your bond with Apollo."

Rachel sighed and shut the door. It was too late at night to deal with this. "I don't think you and Percy have the same kind of bond, Grover."

"I guess not. I mean we haven't slept together or anything-"

"Grover! That was one time, it was a complete mistake, and I never should have told you," Rachel hissed, her face turning red. Well, more than one time, but Grover didn't need to know that. And after all, every time had been a mistake.

Grover shook his head. "Whatever you say, Rachel. Anyway, where's Percy?"

"Don't know. Don't care." Rachel shrugged. "He left about an hour ago, and he didn't say where he's going, but I'm pretty sure he's not coming back. You can stay for however long you want," Rachel said as Grover helped himself to a seat on the couch and grabbed a slice of the pizza she'd ordered.

"Sounds like something happened between the two of you," Grover said, finishing the pizza slice quickly and beginning to eat the cardboard box.

"More like him and Annabeth and I'm just stuck in the middle of it."

"Oh?"

Rachel thought about it for all of two seconds before deciding to confide in Grover. "Annabeth's pregnant, and he just found out. He came here to be closer to her or something – I don't really know or care – and we got into a fight and left. Then…Grover, what are you doing?" Rachel demanded.

Grover looked up from his phone. "Oh, I was just texting Annabeth."

"Don't!" Rachel said, plopping on the couch next to Grover and reaching for his phone. "I don't want her to know that I'm in the middle of this. She already hates me."

"Too late. It's been sent," Grover said, flipping his phone shut. "Annabeth's really pregnant?"

"As far as I know."

Grover gulped. "Wow, I never thought she'd have kids. I mean, I could see you getting pregnant after I found out that you and Apollo were friends with benefits, but-"

"Grover! Like I said, that was one time."

Grover nodded and grabbed another chunk of the pizza box. "How did that even happen?" he asked.

Rachel sighed. Grover was one of the few friends from high school that she still talked to, and she'd learned that he was worse than a girl when it came to gossip. "None of your business, Grover," she said.

And to be honest, she really didn't know how it'd happened. One minute she felt a vision coming on, and the next thing she knew Apollo was on top of her. As much as she wished she could, she couldn't put all the blame on him. She'd never really voiced any objections.

"Do you still like Percy?" Grover asked, reaching for the TV remote. Rachel hoped it was a sign that he'd give up on talking soon.

"Yes. No…I don't know," Rachel finally said. "It doesn't matter how I feel if Annabeth's pregnant."

Grover shrugged and peeked at his phone. "Annabeth says nothing's wrong, which you know, is a typical Annabeth answer. Anyway, her Facebook says she's in a relationship with some Zach guy, which technically means Percy's fair game."

"I don't think it works that way when a baby's involved, Grover."

Grover nodded and turned his attention to the TV. Rachel tried to focus on what was going on, but somehow _Jersey Shore _just couldn't hold her attention. Apparently, the trashy show wasn't enough for Grover either because after a few minutes, he asked, "Do you like Apollo?"

"It's complicated, Grover."

Grover shrugged, apparently giving up. "You mind if I spend the night?"

"Go for it, but I'm going to sleep," Rachel said, standing up and heading for her bedroom. "And please don't tell Annabeth that I was the one who told you."

"Yeah, sure," Grover said, his fingers already flying across the keyboard with lightning speed.

Rachel shook her head, feeling like she'd again messed up.

* * *

><p>"Stay close to me and try to not attract attention. Try to act confused, and don't you dare saying anything to anyone," Luke commanded.<p>

Any other time, Percy would have at least tried to put up a fight. Authority figures had never really sat well with him. On the other hand, as much as he hated to admit it, he was trapped in the Underworld and the aforementioned authority figure was his only way out.

"How are you going to get me out?" Percy asked, trying to keep up as Luke began pacing down the dark corridors of the Underworld.

"A dollop of fairy dust," Luke muttered under his breath, stopping at a fork in the path. He looked to be deep in thought for a few seconds before deciding to take the tunnel farthest left. A few seconds later, Percy heard piercing screams to their right.

"No, seriously. I should be in on the plan," he tried again, making an effort to stay closer to Luke.

"Okay, well I was planning on consulting Houdini and Moses to see what their thoughts are as to ideal escape routes."

"Really?"

"No."

Percy realized it was pointless to continue trying, and besides, keeping up with Luke was a challenge in itself. He wondered if ghosts ever got tired, but thought better than to ask. Being dead for three years sure hadn't done anything for Luke's personality.

Before he was consciously aware of what he was saying, Percy began talking again. "Look, I'm…uhh, I'm sorry that you had to-"

Luke cut him off immediately. "Don't go there, Percy. It's in the past."

"Seems like it still pisses you off."

Luke turned around abruptly. Percy would have run into him, but instead he passed right through. A rush of cold air cut through him like a knife, forcing the breath out of his lungs.

"Do you want me to save you or not, Percy? Because I swear I will leave you here, and Hades can do whatever the fuck he wants with you, and I won't feel the slightest bit guilty about it. Do you understand?" Luke demanded.

Percy gulped and nodded, not trusting his voice to work.

They continued on for a while longer, finally coming to a door. "Remember, don't say anything and act confused. I've done this before," Luke said, not waiting for any kind of acknowledgement from Percy before opening it and stepping through.

It was the entrance to the Underworld that Percy had used when he was on his first quest. People, the majority of them elderly, were milling around, some crying softly and others content reading the outdated magazines on the coffee table.

Charon was sitting on a plush chair, lazily flipping through a magazine. He was wearing an expensive suit, which made Percy wonder if Hades had considered giving the guard to the Underworld a raise.

"Got a mistake here," Luke said nonchalantly, his tone level. "He was dead for two minutes before the paramedics brought him back. His body's been in a coma for the last two weeks."

"What hospital?" Charon asked, looking at Percy for a few seconds before returning his gaze to his magazine, a bored expression on his face.

"Bleeding Heart Memorial in Nevada," Luke said, unfazed.

"How'd he die?"

Luke didn't hesitate. "Hit by a bus."

"Name?"

"Steven James Keller. Gods, do you want a social security number and the occupation of his great grandmother's best friend, too?" Percy fixed his gaze on the floor, certain that the truth was written all over his face.

"That's Percy Jackson." Charon didn't even look up, though a hint of interest crept into his tone.

Luke didn't lose his composure, though Percy felt his face turn bright red. "You're shitting me. I guess they…ehhh, they kind of look alike."

Charon closed the magazine and stood up, slowly walking across the room until he was face to face with Luke. "I remember every person who comes through here, and I don't remember seeing that kid come in," he said coldly, eyes boring into Luke.

"Could have been while you were looking at your Playboy magazines. It's not appreciated how you're hoarding those, you know," Luke continued, unfazed. Percy couldn't imagine what kind of courage that took.

"You've got two minutes to explain what you're doing, Luke."

A silent conversation seemed to take place between them, one Percy wasn't privy to. "Just give me a week," Luke finally said, his tone giving nothing away.

"You know what you're risking."

Luke crossed his arms. Percy noticed goose bumps had formed on them. "I'll be back before Hades knows I'm gone."

"With him?" Charon gestured at Percy.

"That's the plan."

"You have to know tensions are high right now. I don't know why the kid's here, but you breaking him out is not going to put you on Hades' good side."

Luke's composure wavered. "I need to do this," he said, his voice going a notch quieter.

"I'll cover for you for one week. After that, you're on your own," Charon said, reaching into his pocket. "Wear this, and don't ever take it off. I hope you know what you're doing, Luke."

Luke shook his head and took the small object. "Come on, Percy."

And just like that, they were allowed to leave.

Once they walked through the door, Luke immediately faded. Percy looked around, trying to keep the look of panic off his face.

"Really, Percy? You haven't been doing anything for the last few years, have you?" Luke's voice said from somewhere to his left. "I guess that's what this is for…" he added, more to himself.

Suddenly, Luke appeared, only he appeared to be a complete stranger. He looked like someone straight out of _Italian Vogue_, from the perfect body to the curly dark hair and high cheekbones. He looked at his reflection in the glass window of a shop. "Great, I look like Charon's fantasy," he said. Percy noticed that even his voice had changed.

"What, uh, just happened?" Percy asked.

Luke held up a hand, giving Percy the middle finger. "It's made from a kind of metal found only in the Underworld," he said. That was when Percy realized Luke was referring to the ring on his finger, a plain band made of dark metal.

"When you die, you get bound to the Underworld. It's why dead people can't just wander the streets. But if you've got something like this, like a bit of the Underworld you can take with you, then you're free. It gives you an anchor and a body."

Percy wondered what would happen if the ring came off when they were in Massachusetts, but something held him back from asking. "Uh, that's great. But-"

"Your time's counting down, Percy. Got a plan for how you're getting to Massachusetts?" Luke asked, glaring coldly at Percy. Strangely, his eyes were still the same shade of pale blue.

"I, uh…" Percy trailed off.

Luke shook his head and sat down on the sidewalk. "You figure it out. I'm just going to sit here until-"

"Percy Jackson! What are you doing here?" a girl called out from down the street.

Luke looked and immediately paled. "Oh shit."

_Notes: Only two perspectives this chapter, lovelies. I was feeling a bit lazy this time around. I promise next chapter will have three. I also promise future chapters will explain what happened in Percy and Annabeth's relationship, as well as what Apollo and Rachel have been doing. But when it comes to this chapter, I love you if you can find all the Disney and Bible and Llamas with Hats references. And as for the next chapter, I have a serious question, lovelies. I left this chapter kind of open because I wanted to know: do you want to see some possible Thalia/Luke in future chapters? Give me your thoughts in your lovely reviews, darlings. _


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five  
><strong>**One Step Closer**

_Masquerade!  
><em>_Seething shadows  
><em>_breathing lies.  
><em>_Masquerade!  
><em>_You can fool  
><em>_any friend who  
><em>_ever knew you!_

Luke's heart started pounding when he recognized Thalia.

She was dressed in plain street clothes, the only thing giving away her status being a silver circlet in her hair. Luke had heard through the rumor mill that she'd become Artemis' lieutenant. He hadn't seen her since she'd pushed him off a cliff.

Talk about awkward.

"Percy, what are you doing here?" Thalia asked again. Luke was suddenly grateful he didn't look like himself.

Percy looked at Luke, eyes wide. Luke offered a subtle shrug of his shoulders. "I, uh, was just trying to find a way back to Massachusetts," Percy spluttered. "And this, uh, is my roommate…" he trailed off.

After a painfully long silence, Luke realized he was supposed to finish the sentence. "John…John Oak," he finally said. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to pretend to be a demigod, or maybe just a clear-sighted mortal, but before he could add anything, Thalia acknowledged his presence with a brief nod and turned her attention back to Percy.

For the time being, Luke was thankful that the attention was off him.

"Find a way back to Massachusetts?" Thalia furrowed her brow. "I heard you were going to school here in California."

Luke wanted to ask Thalia what she was doing in the slums of Los Angeles, but he wasn't supposed to know anything about her. He was supposed to be…well, he didn't even know.

"It's a long story," Percy said vaguely. "Can you help me get to Massachusetts?"

"Help _us_," Luke couldn't help but correct, then immediately wished he hadn't once Thalia's lightning blue eyes fixed on him. "I, er-"

"It's Christmas break and all, but we didn't think to book plane tickets ahead of time, and now it's too crazy to get any. And…"

Luke tried his hardest to keep a good poker face. Percy was a terrible liar. It was going to be up to him to get them out of this mess. "I have a friend who lives around here," he said, attempting to sound calm, even though his voice shook. "He was supposed to meet us up and we were all going to drive back home, but he bailed."

Meeting their friend in a sketchy part of LA. Oh, and they didn't have anything resembling luggage with them. It wasn't a solid story, but it was better than nothing.

Thalia's gaze was so intense; Luke expected her to be able to see right through his flimsy façade. "Percy, can I talk to you?" She gave Luke one last quick look, then switched her gaze back to Percy. "Alone, please?"

Percy shook his head in agreement and walked away with Thalia, leaving Luke to pray that Percy was competent not to give the two of them away.

What seemed like an eternity later, Percy and Thalia returned. "You could have just said you're a clear-sighted mortal," she huffed, clearly irritated.

"Yeah, it must run in Rachel's family or something," Percy said. "John's her cousin." Percy must have noticed the blank look Luke was giving him because he added, "I hope you remembered to send her back her hairbrush."

Luke winced at the remembrance of the incident. "Yeah, uh, I already sent my stuff to her place," he mumbled. "We're spending Christmas break together and all."

"Well, like I told Percy, I was waiting for…someone. He's giving me a ride to Michigan, but he'll take you to Massachusetts," Thalia said. "And he's supposed to meet me a few streets down, so I'm going to go and…yeah."

Only a few seconds later, Percy turned to Luke and said, "You can handle Charon, but Thalia turns you into a nervous wreck?"

"Shut up. What if she heard that?" Luke hissed.

"It's not like I announced you're the ghost of her former boyfriend."

"I was not her boyfriend!" Luke groaned. That had been too loud. Desperate to change the subject, he said, "Did you tell Thalia about Annabeth?"

"No." A few minutes of silence passed before Percy said, "She won't talk to me. I told you that, right? That's why I went to Massachusetts. I was staying with Rachel, but I walked out of the apartment, and…"

"You ended up in the Underworld."

"Yeah."

Luke considered telling Percy that it was Nico who'd brought him there, but decided to keep the information to himself. "Maybe Thalia knows something about what's going on."

Before Percy could respond, a red Camaro pulled up. "Apollo," Percy whispered to Luke a second before one of the tinted windows rolled down.

A blonde teen in aviator sunglasses flashed them a smile. "That's right. God of the sun at your service. Hop in!"

Somehow, Percy ended up in the front seat, which left Luke in the back with Thalia. "I get sick sitting in the front of this car," she'd murmured, which still didn't explain how he'd ended up next to her.

It was going to be a long drive.

Apollo and Percy talked quietly in the front – Luke couldn't begin to imagine about what. Thalia pressed herself against her side of the car, clearly not interested in talking. Following her lead, Luke looked out the window.

Luke's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. They had to be going well over 100 miles per hour. "What…how…?" he asked Thalia.

"Magic," Thalia said vaguely. She looked up at Apollo and Percy, still deeply engrossed in conversation, then back at Luke. "I, well, I suppose I never introduced myself. I'm Thalia Grace."

One day it was going to be hilarious, Luke was sure. Perhaps when he was back in the Underworld, playing _Life_ with Renaissance scientists and listening to them argue about who had stolen whose ideas. But for now, it was painfully awkward.

"Uh, if I can ask, what's in Michigan?"

"My family."

"You don't have to pretend, you know. Rachel's told me about stuff…for protection, you know? But even if she hadn't…I can tell there's something different about you," Luke said, surprised he retained the ability to form coherent sentences around her.

"I'm off guys."

"Okay, well I'm not really in a position to be looking for love or whatever," Luke retorted.

Thalia narrowed her eyes. "Really?"

"You have no idea."

She shook her head. "I wasn't lying when I said my family's in Michigan. They're just…more like an adoptive family, I guess."

"I don't really have family besides Rachel."

"It's ironic that you're Rachel's cousin and Percy's your friend."

"Small world, I guess." She had no idea. Deciding for the fun of it to play dumb, Luke nodded to the driver's seat. "So, he's really…?"

"Yeah. And he's my brother." Thalia paused for a moment, then continued. "I live with his twin, Artemis. Her, and a bunch of girls who are sworn off guys forever."

"Forever?"

"That's what I just said."

"You've gotta at least liked a guy at some point." Luke tried.

"I thought I did."

"But?"

Thalia bit her lip. "There were…extenuating circumstances. Things didn't really work out."

"So…you like living with your sister?"

"Yes," Thalia said immediately. "Well…yes, but, no, but… I don't know. Sometimes I think I do, but then I wonder what else is out there. The stuff I'm missing out on, but…I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You're a complete stranger. You don't care."

"No, I really do," Luke said honestly.

"You remind me of someone."

"I've been told that a lot. Must just be one of those faces," Luke lied. His and Thalia's eyes locked. He offered her a half-smile before she looked away.

Thalia stiffened. "I'm getting sick," she said before turning her gaze back to the window, refusing to acknowledge Luke's presence for the rest of the ride to Massachusetts.

Luke wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse.

* * *

><p>When the doorbell rang at ten PM, Rachel honestly thought about just ignoring it this time. However, she couldn't think of anyone worse than Grover, who had commandeered her TV and had been watching <em>America's Next Top Model <em>all day.

But then again, Rachel should have realized she really didn't have any friends.

"Hey, maybe it's the pizza I ordered," Grover bleated from the couch.

Well, then. Rachel supposed she had to get up anyway, since she was undoubtedly going to be the one to have to pay for this food.

However, it wasn't any kind of delivery person at the door. Rachel looked at the three men outside her door – Apollo, Percy, and someone who looked like he'd stepped straight out of an _Abercrombie_ ad – for all of three seconds before announcing, "I do not want to deal with this right now," and slamming the door.

Rachel marched through the hallway, counting down the seconds until Apollo would undoubtedly ignore her wishes and enter.

_Three, two…_

"Rachel, babe, don't be like that," Apollo said, only a few steps behind her. Percy and the unnamed model chose to hover close to the door. "I haven't been here in weeks and this is the kind of welcome I get?"

Rachel shot him a warning look. "Go sit on the couch and watch sluts try to act classy. I will talk to you later."

Surprisingly, Apollo obeyed.

Which left two boys to deal with. Rachel walked over to the entrance, where the two were quietly talking. "Okay, Percy. Why are you back here and who's this?"

The stranger offered her a smile, revealing teeth that belonged in a toothpaste commercial. "I'm your cousin, John Oak," he said.

"Yeah…no," Rachel said flatly, glaring.

"You know, Marge and Peter's adopted kid," he said. Percy was trying to stifle laughter in the background. "Seriously, we're related. And I'm a clear-sighted mortal, just like you."

"Whatever. Percy, where'd you go and why'd you come back?"

"I, uh, just needed space, and then I ran into your cousin, so we came back."

"And your phone?"

"Lost it."

Rachel groaned. "Okay, well-"

"Come on, Lakisha! Work it; you got this!" Apollo shouted from the living room.

That was it. Rachel stormed into the room and glared at both guys, who didn't notice because apparently Lakisha's posing nude, albeit covered with chocolate syrup and sprinkles, was just that fascinating.

"C'mon, Rach. You're in the way. I have ten bucks saying Lakisha beats out Lateefa this round," Apollo said.

Rachel took a deep breath before completely losing it. "Okay, pay attention because I'm only going to say this once. Do not call me Rach. You know I hate it. My name is Rachel. You also know I hate it when you drop in unannounced, but apparently my feelings don't matter to you. Now I've got four guys in my apartment, none of whom really have a reason to be here, and I would appreciate it if you could all get the fuck out."

Apollo looked at Rachel, blinked, then turned his attention back to the TV. "Oh, Lateefa gets to pose with strawberry syrup? That goes so much better with the backdrop. This show is rigged."

Rachel could practically feel her blood pressure rising. "You know what? Whatever!" she shouted, stomping her feet the entire way to the kitchen, grabbing the emergency credit card her father had given her. She stormed back into the living room and threw it in Grover's face. "You and Percy can go get a hotel room together, being such great friends and all." She looked at Apollo for a few seconds. "You are leaving as soon as possible."

She marched back to the door, where Percy and John were still standing. "Percy, you're getting a hotel room with Grover. John, I really don't know you, and you haven't done anything to make me mad yet. You can stay."

John opened his mouth to protest. "But I need to-"

"No."

"Percy and I-"

"What, is he your boyfriend?" Rachel demanded.

John shook his head. "Percy, don't even think about trying to-"

"Okay, okay. He gets it. Now are you going to-"

John held up his hands in surrender. "I'm just going to go watch _Cake Boss_ or something."

"It's Friday. There's always a _Say Yes to the Dress_ marathon," Grover offered, walking towards them with a backpack and duffel bag slung over his shoulders. He was holding the credit card Rachel had given him like it was a nuclear bomb about to explode.

"Fantastic. Maybe a rerun of _Friends _will be on if I'm lucky." John pushed past Rachel, shooting Percy one final warning look before retreating to the living room.

"We should get going, Percy," Grover said nervously.

"Um, should I come back tomorrow morning? Maybe you'll be in a better mood, Rachel…" Percy said tentatively.

"You know what? Maybe you should focus on the girl you got pregnant!" Rachel shouted.

Grover shook his head. "Talk about a low blow."

"Get out!"

Percy and Grover couldn't seem to do so fast enough.

In the living room, John and Apollo were watching another reality TV show. "I think Chondra's going to pick Giovanni," Apollo stated.

"Ten bucks on Ethan."

"You're on."

Rachel couldn't help but feel like she'd just had to deal with this. "Apollo, what part of _leave as soon as possible_ did you not understand?" she demanded.

"Well, what if as soon as possible is, you know…three days from now?" he asked innocently.

"As soon as possible is sometime within the next ten seconds, so help me God."

"Well, you know…I am a god…"

"So help yourself out!"

Apollo sighed. "You know, I'm not really feeling welcome here. I think it's time to beat it. I'm sure my friend will welcome me into her house. Her name is Veronika…with a K," he added.

"I'm sure she's a very nice stripper with a beautiful apartment and no STD's whatsoever," Rachel said flatly.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, John." Apollo stood up. "I'll come by sometime soon, okay, Rach?" He wrapped her in a hug that she didn't do anything to return.

A few seconds after Apollo left, John gave her a serious look. "So, cousin…How long have you been sleeping with him?"

"Oh my fucking God," Rachel huffed.

"Fucking God…interesting choice of words."

"You know what? Your tolerability is rapidly dropping."

"Sorry, sorry…" John apologized, scooting over on the couch. "Come on, just sit down and watch _Unknown Celebrity's Ugly Child Finds Love_ or whatever this is called."

Rachel took a seat next to him, anger practically radiating off of her. "Okay, you can drop the cousin act and tell me who the fuck you really are."

"Okay, you got me. The cousin thing is a, well, fabrication. But we do know each other, I promise."

"Yeah, how?"

"Do you ever miss your plastic hairbrush?"

"What…?"

"You know, I'm feeling pretty tired. Where's the guest bedroom?"

"You can't just drop it like that!"

"Down the hall and to the left? Okay, thanks. You like pancakes in the morning? Me neither. Waffles it is. See you later, Rachel," John said, a fake smile plastered on his face as he retreated from the room.

Rachel groaned and tried to focus on whatever was on the TV. However, as soon as she began to grasp the nonexistent plot, the doorbell rang.

The pizza Grover ordered. Right.

Man, the poor delivery boy was going to get one hell of a tip.

* * *

><p>Zach was going on about how fantastic all of his finals had gone and how he hoped Annabeth would consider coming to Jamaica with him for Christmas break. She'd quit listening five minutes ago and started playing Angry Birds on her phone. She was pretty sure he hadn't noticed yet.<p>

"…overlooking the ocean. Doesn't that sound nice, Annabeth?"

"Yeah, sure." She wondered if for her final project in physics next semester, she could write a paper about how Angry Birds perfectly modeled trajectory motion.

"You don't sound excited. I need to know by tonight. We're leaving on my family's jet tomorrow morning."

"Okay, well I'm really not all that interested in Jamaica."

"I've told you eight times, it's Costa Rica."

Annabeth tried not to roll her eyes. "I'm busy. Besides, I'm supposed to go see my family at some point."

Were pregnant women allowed to fly?

Wait, it didn't matter. She wasn't going to think like that.

"There's going to be zip lining."

"I really don't like heights. Or ethnic food. Or the hot temperatures. I'm going to stay here in Massachusetts with some friends, Zach," Annabeth said, pretty sure she'd covered every enticing prospect he'd dangled in front of her over the last ten minutes.

"If that's what you want. My parents were looking forward to meeting you, though."

"Okay, well unless they die in the next six months, I'm sure they'll still be around this summer," Annabeth snapped.

"Annabeth, what is your problem?" Zach asked, furrowing his brow and running a hand through his sandy hair.

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I've just been stressed lately. Finals and all," she lied.

It had nothing to do with the fact that she had a doctor's appointment tomorrow at two.

"Oh, well then some time apart might be good for us," Zach stated, as if they were discussing personal finance or the weather forecast. Like their relationship was something that could be analyzed and perfected.

"I think it will be," Annabeth said curtly. She looked down at her phone again. Instead of the impossible course she'd been stuck on, there was a text message alert from Grover. She sighed and shook her head. Right when the messages from Percy had stopped, Grover had started bombarding her with questions.

_Percy's here with me. He really wants to see you. You should at least tell him what's going on, Annabeth._

Annabeth groaned and looked up to see Zach's gaze focused completely on her. Not the flat screen TV tuned to NBC behind her, or the bill the waitress had just placed on their table. "Something's on your mind. I wish you'd tell me," Zach said.

"Nothing's wrong," Annabeth insisted. She quickly typed a message back to Grover. _Tell Percy he has nothing to worry about. _

Grover texted back a few seconds later. _But you told me you have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. You're not getting a…you know…?_

_Maybe I would tell if you if I didn't know Percy was looking over your shoulder at whatever I'm going to say_, Annabeth typed back, turned her phone off, and looked back up at Zach. She forced a fake smile. "I really need to go pack my things," she told him.

"Alright. Should I drive you back?"

"I can walk; thank you. I can take care of myself."

And by this time tomorrow, everything would be taken care of.

_Notes: Don't worry, lovelies. Annabeth's not going to get out of her mess that easily. Anyway, Chapter 5 is done! And I was thinking about doing something nice for you lovely reviewers. So I came up with this idea. Because there's a variety of viewpoints used in this story, I sometimes wonder if I should have written something from someone else's perspective._

_So here's the dealio. Look over the last five chapters. If there's a scene that you'd like to see written from another perspective, leave it somewhere in your review for this chapter. (If you leave a review consisting of nothing more than that scene, I'll ignore you and move on with my life.)_

_I'll look at your responses and see if there's an overwhelming favorite or something that really jumps out at me as well. Then I'll go back and rewrite that scene from the requested viewpoint. Now here's where your reward as reviewers comes in._

_Once I've got it done (which will be sometime before Chapter 10), I'll leave a little note at the end of a chapter like, "reviewers get the bonus scene!" And then if you leave a nice review (consisting of something more than "awesome story! Update faster") I'll send you the scene!_

_Anonymous reviewers, I'm afraid that leaves you out. :( Maybe at the end of the story, I'll post a bonus chapter with all the extra scenes. Oh and by the way? I'll do this every five chapters if this time around goes well. _

_Anyway, reviews are love and don't forget to send me requests in your review or by PM if something jumps out at you later. (:_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six  
><strong>**The Path Undesired**

_Wait.  
><em>_It's just about to break.  
><em>_It's more than I can take.  
><em>_Everything's about to change._

Rachel woke up in a considerably better mood until she realized she'd slept past both of her morning classes due to the fact that she'd thrown her alarm clock at the wall last night. Good thing art schools didn't believe in finals.

She stumbled out of bed and ran a hand through her hair before grabbing a ponytail off her nightstand and tying it up.

_Do you ever miss your plastic hairbrush?_

Rachel shook her head as she walked out into the hallway. She still didn't have the slightest idea what that was supposed to mean.

Being nosey, she crept into John's room quietly. He was still asleep, wearing the same clothes as last night. "Wake up, lazy," Rachel said, shaking him gently.

"Gods, I don't sleep in two years and…" John muttered, pushing her away.

Rachel decided to ignore that comment. "It's already past noon. Don't you have something to do? Somewhere to be?"

John shook his head and reluctantly stumbled out of bed. He ran a hand through his hair and straightened his wrinkled shirt. "Trust me; you have no idea how true it is when I say I have nothing here for me. Besides Percy, that is."

"When you put it like that, it makes it sound like he's your boyfriend or something."

"Gods, no. I hate him." John looked across the room, catching sight of his reflection in the full-sized mirror above the dresser. Rachel couldn't quite pin the emotion that crossed over his face – surprise, disbelief? "It's a complicated story."

Percy had left and showed up the next night with a stranger who was pretending to be her cousin. Complicated seemed to be an understatement. Normally, Rachel could get a general inclination about people, but John was a complete mystery.

"Well, I'm starving. How about breakfast?" John asked.

Rachel didn't remember the last time she'd gotten groceries. "I don't think there's much in the kitchen, and whatever's there probably expired weeks ago, but…" she trailed off, realizing it was pointless as John was already headed for the kitchen.

"You did say we could make waffles in the morning," John said, systematically working his way through the cabinets and putting what he found on the counter. So far, he'd discovered an expired bag of Doritos and a box of graham crackers.

"No, you said that," Rachel said, suddenly conscious of how messy her apartment was. "And I was just too tired to argue."

"Okay, well then you won't be too disappointed to find out that waffles are kind of out of the picture," John said, finding a few packages of Raman. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you-"

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Rachel said, heading for the entranceway.

She opened the door and screamed. Five creatures, all armed with spears, were leering at her. They had scaly skin and beady eyes, and Rachel was certain she saw fangs when they opened their mouths.

John was beside her in a second, a kitchen knife in his hand. In the blink of an eye, he'd neatly sliced the head off of one of the monsters.

Only the head stayed on as the knife went right through him. John cursed under his breath. "Sterling silver," he muttered, tossing the knife aside. Suddenly, it was John against five mystery creatures. Part of Rachel wanted to run back into the apartment and hide. Another part of her was frozen in place.

John ducked and weaved through their attacks with the grace that an experienced fighter possessed, using his fists and elbows to stun and weaken the creatures. However, they'd only fall down briefly before getting up.

"Rachel…do you have any celestial bronze?" She stared at him blankly. "Did Apollo ever give you something to protect yourself with?" he tried again, struggling to dodge attacks.

Rachel wracked her brain, trying to think of anything before remembering. She dashed back in the apartment, running for her room. As a Christmas gift one year, Apollo had given her a dagger – beautiful, jewel-encrusted, and exactly the kind of thing she didn't want nor had she ever planned on using.

Maybe the god knew more than Rachel gave him credit for.

John was slowing down, his breathing labored and sweat soaking his shirt. "John!" Rachel shouted, tossing him the dagger.

He caught it in midair, smoothly slicing the head off one of the monsters. This time, it disintegrated into a pile of dust. In a few short moments, John had killed every last creature. He grinned, showing off a perfect smile.

"Okay, how did you just do that?" Rachel asked when she finally had the sense to speak.

John just shrugged sheepishly, handing Rachel her dagger. "A few self-defense classes."

That was when Rachel noticed movement out of the corner of her eye.

The last creature –somehow, John must have missed one - gave Rachel a crooked smile before raising its spear and driving it through John's stomach. John gasped as the creature twisted the spear and pulled it out.

Rachel immediately threw the dagger, embedding it right between the creature's eyes. The creature disintegrated, and Rachel didn't even think to be impressed with herself.

John had sunk to his knees, pressing his hands against the wound on his stomach. Strangely, the voice of Rachel's high school first aid teacher popped up in her head. _Someone can bleed to death from a major wound in less than five minutes._

"I'm…I'm fine," John stammered as a red stain spread over his shirt. He coughed, revealing a trickle of blood. "Really, Rachel. It's fine."

"Don't be stupid. A spear went through you," Rachel insisted. "I'm going to grab my keys and we're going to the hospital."

Rachel came back with keys to find a very shirtless John.

But more distracting than those perfect abs was the fact that there was no sign of a wound on his stomach.

"I told you there was nothing," he said, going for a casual air, as if he hadn't just fought off a bunch of creatures and been stabbed.

"There's blood on your hands."

John rolled his eyes and stood up, wincing slightly. Rachel noticed a scar on the left side of his chest. "Well then I'll go wash it off," he said, heading for the bathroom.

"Nice tattoo," Rachel said, commenting on the angel wings that took up John's entire back, along with gothic style text just above the waistband of his pants. "What's it say?"

"I can only hope it's true enough, that every little thing I do for love, redeems me from the moments I've deemed worthy of the worst things that I've done…wait, it's there?" he called over his shoulder.

"It's a tattoo. They usually don't get up and leave. That's pretty poetic."

"It's _Panic! at the Disco_," John shouted from the bathroom. "Hey, it really still is there."

Rachel shook her head. She told herself she'd been through things weirder than this. She was just alone with a stranger who was pretending to be her cousin, said stranger had been stabbed but had no mark whatsoever, and he was apparently surprised that he still had a tattoo.

She tried to tell herself that Percy wouldn't dump a psycho on her, but couldn't quite convince herself it was beyond him.

Which was why when John walked back in (still shirtless – not like she cared), Rachel was not letting him weasel his way out of answering her questions. "Okay, I saw you get stabbed. There is blood on your shirt. How are you not dead?" So that hadn't been as eloquent as it'd been in her mind.

"I am dead," John deadpanned.

"Look, my bullshit tolerance is gone, and I'd like it if you would-"

"I wouldn't lie to you, Rachel," John said, his eyes locking with hers. She swore she recognized him from somewhere, but couldn't place him in the new situation – like seeing a professor at the grocery store. "I don't understand what's going on any more than you do."

Rachel shook her head. "Why were you surprised that your tattoo is still there?"

"I thought I got it removed…?" John tried, trailing off under Rachel's withering stare. "I, er, well…want to know why I got it?"

Rachel's former promise to herself about not letting him avoid her questions left her mind. Besides, maybe knowing the story behind it would help her place John. "Go for it."

John sat down on the couch next to her. "It sounds stupid when I explain it, but it felt right at the time, you know?" he said, suddenly awkward. "But I guess I was about to do something that I knew I shouldn't, and it just kind of, I don't know…symbolized a hope for redemption."

Silence hung between them for a few minutes – Rachel trying to figure out how she knew him, and God only knew what John was thinking about.

Finally, he was the one who broke the silence. "Um, Rachel? It was kind of a hasty exit when I left with Percy. I didn't really have time to pack. Do you, you know, have any clothes I could borrow?"

Rachel groaned. "Apollo left some of his clothes in the dresser in your bedroom."

"So you guys are pretty serious."

"You know what? It's really complicated, and I don't expect you to understand it, so-"

"Geez, Rachel. I was just kidding. Don't give yourself a heart attack," John said, grinning. "Look, I'm going to go get dressed and then maybe we could go out for breakfast, since there's nothing to eat in your house."

Rachel nodded. As John turned away, she stared at the wings tattooed on to his back.

_I was about to do something that I knew I shouldn't._

What did that mean?

* * *

><p>Annabeth hadn't been this nervous before her admissions interview with Harvard University. That had been a kind of nervousness she could handle – after all, there was a positive result she could anticipate. Given current circumstances, she wasn't exactly sure if there was an outcome to hope for.<p>

She'd woken up and realized today was _The Day_. That was how she'd been thinking of it in her mind – capital letters full of dread. It was the day Annabeth had to quit pretending and face what was going on.

But how hadn't she known until now?

Annabeth and Percy had spent the majority of their time as a couple on opposite sides of the country. It was a safe and predictable relationship.

Everything changed when Percy's father announced that as a gift, he'd bought them a condo in Florida for the summer. Never mind that it was just done as a maneuver to irk Athena and buy Percy's love. They could only think about the whole summer they were going to get to spend together.

And spend it together they had. They'd hardly left the condo during the first few weeks. Things had stayed hot and heavy all summer – that was, until the week before they were supposed to go to college. She'd tried to get serious about their future, and Percy had gotten distant.

At the latest, she'd gotten pregnant at the end of August – nearly four months ago. She'd seen the shows where women went through entire pregnancies without ever realizing it, but that didn't happen in real life – did it?

The nurse called Annabeth back and took her weight and height. How hadn't she noticed gaining ten pounds? Oh, right. Her clothes had gotten tighter and she'd just chalked it up to the freshman 15.

The nurse took her to a room, and the doctor came in a few minutes later. She introduced herself, giving Annabeth a smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "So, Annabeth. Tell me what your thought is on all this."

"I, um, want an abortion," Annabeth said.

The doctor's smile wilted. Annabeth realized she'd already forgotten the woman's name. "I understand you're scared, Annabeth. But I have to ask you a few questions about your pregnancy before we can decide anything."

"Yeah, okay."

"So when was the first day of your last period?"

"Um, August 25." How hadn't she noticed that for four months? Maybe she'd blamed it on stress or a side effect of coming off the pill.

"Annabeth, I'm afraid that means you're too far in your pregnancy for us to do the procedure here. I could recommend a few clinics for you, but most won't after the first trimester is done," the doctor said, a tight smile on her face.

"What? Why?" Annabeth asked before her brain had even processed what she'd just been told.

The doctor's smile became a little more forced. "Well, by the standards of most respectable hospitals, by the time a fetus is past 12 weeks old, it's considered a human being. Like I said, Annabeth, I know a handful of hospitals you could contact, but-"

"Okay, okay. Please stop." Annabeth struggled to let the words sink in. "So, I, er…how many weeks along am I?"

"Based on the date of your last period, approximately 18 weeks. You could schedule an ultrasound and find out the sex of your baby if you wanted."

18 weeks. This nightmare was nearly halfway done.

"I understand that this might be a bit overwhelming for you. If you'd like, we can schedule an appointment in a few weeks. In the meantime, I'll need to draw blood to run a few tests – standard procedure, nothing to worry about."

_Nothing to worry about._

If only it were that easy.

* * *

><p>"Okay, let me get this straight," Percy said, pacing the length of the hotel room he and Grover had spent the night at. "I'm going to be outside Saint Peter Memorial Clinic at 3:00."<p>

Grover nodded from his seat on one of the beds. "Her appointment should get done right about then."

"And how do you know that?" Percy asked.

Grover just shrugged. "I know people," he said vaguely.

Percy decided it was best not to ask. He hadn't seen Grover since he'd decided to quit going to Camp Half Blood the summer he turned 17, and it seemed like the satyr had changed quite a bit since then. "Okay, so I'll be there and she'll come out, and then I'll…"

"Tell her how much you love her!" Grover said dramatically, hopping off the bed so he stood face to face with Percy. "She's carrying your baby, Perce…You've got to."

This wasn't the first time they'd been through this argument. "But I don't love her," Percy protested. "We broke up four months ago."

And saying they hadn't ended things on good terms was an understatement. She'd thrown a curling iron (turned on) at his head, and he'd called her, well…a few choice insults. It had been an unspoken agreement that they were never going to speak to each other again.

"And I'm telling you this as your friend. This is one of those times you have to swallow your pride and just be there for her," Grover insisted.

"It's not my pride. It's the fact that I can't stand her!"

Grover just gave Percy a knowing look. "Then why'd you fly across the coast to see her?"

Percy had to admit Grover had him there.

So when 3:00 rolled around, Percy was waiting on a bench outside the clinic. An elderly lady had sat down beside him and asked if he wanted a cookie, then looked at him as if she expected him to reveal his life story.

He couldn't help but feel like he'd seen a movie where that'd happened.

By 3:15, Annabeth still hadn't come out the doors. Percy couldn't help but wonder if Grover hadn't sent him to the wrong hospital on purpose, a punishment for being a deadbeat best friend for all those years.

At 3:30 Percy promised himself if she didn't walk out those doors in the next ten minutes, he was leaving.

At exactly 3:36, right when he was getting up to leave, Annabeth came through the doors. And suddenly it didn't matter that Percy had had exactly 36 minutes to prepare a speech to give her, because even if he had prepared something, his mind went blank the second he saw her.

They really needed to add a unit to health classes: how to handle your pregnant ex-girlfriend. It would fit in perfectly right between resisting peer pressure and saying no to drugs.

Annabeth pulled out her phone and tapped on keys, not seeing Percy. He probably could have not said anything and she would never know he was there. But then Grover's speech came to mind.

"Annabeth!" Percy called out.

Annabeth turned and saw him, her eyes widening. "Percy…I…" she said, looking at him like she was trying to decide if everything was a dream or not.

"Can we, umm, you know, maybe get coffee or something?" Wait, could pregnant women have caffeine? "Or if that's bad for you, we could, you know…" Gods, he should have prepared for this. "I just think we need to talk," he finally said.

Surprisingly, Annabeth shook her head in agreement. "We probably should," she said. "I know a place a few blocks from here."

It was the most awkward twenty minutes of his life. Neither of them said anything on the walk, though they kept looking at each other out of the corners of the eyes, making eye contact, and quickly looking away.

Things didn't get easier once they arrived at the café Annabeth was talking about. They ordered their food and then were left to face each other.

"So…" Percy said, staring a stain on the tablecloth.

"Percy, I'm just going to say it. I'm pregnant, and I wanted to get an abortion, but the doctor told me I'm already in my second trimester. It's, well…not really an option at this point." Percy dared to look up, only to see that she was looking down, talking to the table. "I'm due at the beginning of June."

"I don't get how this happened," Percy said. Looking back on it, it was probably the stupidest comment he could have made.

"You want to know how this happened?" Annabeth's voice rose. "You thought it was safe to quit using condoms, and I forgot to take my pill a few too many times." A few couples seated at surrounding tables shot them dirty looks. "Look, there's no point in wondering how it happened," she continued, lowering her voice. "We've just got to get through it."

Percy opened his mouth to say something, but Annabeth continued, "You can go back to school. I can handle this on my own. I just need you to sign the papers and you can-"

"Wait, papers?"

"You know I can do it without your consent, Percy."

"Do what?"

"The adoption."

_Notes: I'm sorry it took so long to get this done. Tell me to update this sooner and I'll feed your soul to my hellhound. Just kidding, but really, it bugs me. I promise, I'll try to throw some Percy/Annabeth into the next few chapters. Other things to look forward to in upcoming chapters: John and Rachel take a visit to a mental hospital in Connecticut, Nico returns, and a bit of light is shed on the whole time of high tension with the gods. Gimme some nice reviews and it'll come to you sooner, lovelies. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven  
><strong>**Hasty Decisions**

_Are all the good times getting gone?  
><em>_They come and go and go and come and go.  
><em>_I've got a lot of friends who are stars  
><em>_But some are just black holes_

"And that's when she springs this crazy idea on me – adoption!" Percy fumed, finishing up what had been a half-hour story. "What was I supposed to say to that? She had that crazy look in her eyes, like _'don't you dare disagree with me, Percy Jackson, or I'll spear you in the eye with this butter knife.'_"

Luke looked at Rachel and Grover; both of them seemed about as interested as he was. He was trying to feel bad for Percy – really, as hard as you could try to empathize with the person who more or less had been responsible for your death.

He had six more days in the world of the living, and he intended to use them as well as he could. But there was so much he needed to do, so many people he needed to talk to – his parents, Annabeth, Thalia…

And then there were things that just weren't lining up – he still had his old tattoo, as well as the scar over his Achilles' mark. When he'd been stabbed this morning, it fucking hurt. But right before his eyes, the wound healed up.

The Curse of Achilles made a person invincible. But hadn't killing himself cancelled it out?

"Focus, guys! What am I supposed to do?" Percy asked desperately.

"I don't know, but you'd better figure it out quickly. _School_ needs you back in a week," Luke said, earning himself a glare.

"What are you going to do about finals, anyway?" Rachel asked.

Percy groaned. "Gods, I haven't even thought about that. I told Annabeth I'm staying here for the rest of the year…not like she cared," he added.

Staying for the rest of the year? Luke would drag Percy back to the Underworld if that was what it took. "But you've got _classes_. That's not exactly something you can back out of."

"Yeah? Watch me."

Sadly, Luke wasn't sure if Percy understood he wasn't really talking about school. "Well if you're staying here, then so am I."

"But don't you have classes?" Rachel asked.

Percy answered before Luke could. "Oh, John doesn't go to school. He doesn't have a job, either."

Luke glared at Percy. So that was how it was going to be. "My family situation wasn't ideal," he said, not lying. "I'll tell you about it sometime, Rachel. Promise." So maybe that was a lie.

The doorbell rang. Luke jumped up to get it, desperate for a reprieve from Percy's pity party.

Nico di Angelo.

Fuck.

Nico looked at Luke, blinked, rubbed his eyes, then said, "You have got to be shitting me."

"Unfortunately not."

Nico didn't waste any time. "That's pretty strong Underworld magic," he said, grabbing Luke's hand and examining the stone on the ring. "Keeping you here and giving you a fake appearance." Luke tried to jerk his hand away, but Nico tightened his grip. "I bet my dad doesn't know."

Of course Nico knew exactly what buttons to push.

"No, he doesn't."

"So let me guess," Nico said, his dark eyes boring into Luke. "You disobeyed my father's orders, brought Percy back to the world of the living, and decided to come with just for the hell of it."

Luke had been trying not to think of it like that. "I told Percy he had a week. Then I'm taking him back to the Underworld."

"John, who's at the door?" Rachel shouted from living room.

"Just some charity person," Luke called back. "I'm going to go get pizza for supper, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he stepped out into the hallway. "I think we should go somewhere and talk."

They ended up a few blocks from Rachel's apartment at a busy pizza place. "I think we can make this work to our advantage," Nico said once they were settled in a booth. "So long as you do exactly what I say."

Luke knew he wasn't in a position to negotiate, but he could at least try to get more information. "What's going on with the gods?"

Nico narrowed his eyes. "What do you already know?"

"Tensions are high. I found this in Rachel's apartment – it was for Percy," he said, pulling the dark blue envelope he'd found on the dresser of the bedroom out of his pocket. He handed it over to Nico.

Luke had already opened and read it. The message was simple – _watch your back_. Obviously, Percy hadn't taken the time to read it and heed the warning. "I'd bet it's from Poseidon," he said.

Nico nodded in agreement. "Things are tense between the Big Three. I don't understand all of it." Luke was certain that was a lie. "Something about too many of their children existing at once."

"You, Thalia, Percy," Luke listed.

"There are others. Jason Grace – guess Thalia never told you about him. They moved him – Zeus and Hera."

"Moved him?" Luke asked.

Nico waved a hand vaguely. "It's a long story. Still, there are three of us, and the gods don't like that."

It made sense. Zeus had gained his power by killing his father, who in turn had rebelled by killing his father. Paranoia was bound to be high so soon after Kronos' attempted coup. Anyone else would have bought the story, but Luke was certain there had to be more.

Of course, he'd have to find someone else to get the rest of the story from.

"So are you willing to work with me?" Nico asked impatiently.

Luke didn't have a choice. "Yes."

"I'll tell my father we brought Percy back to the land of the living to…well, I'll take care of that. As for you, that magic is only going to hold for so long."

"And when it wears off?"

"You cease to exist."

Luke couldn't afford to hope Nico was bluffing. "So can I just go back to the Underworld now?"

"You need to stay here and make sure Percy doesn't try to disappear. If my dad asks, I'll think of an explanation. And in the meantime, I'll figure out a way to keep the magic strong."

Luke shook his head. "Okay, but you have to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"You'll stay away from Rachel."

* * *

><p>Christmas was in two days. Annabeth was supposed to be in California, celebrating with her family. Instead, she was staying at a hotel because a snowstorm had cancelled all flights for the next three days. It was just her luck.<p>

Percy had been texting her all morning, asking where she was and what she was doing. She'd been too busy at the airport to respond, but now that she was alone at the hotel with no inclination as to what she was going to do for the next few days, her resolve was weakening.

_What are you doing right now? I can't believe how hard it's snowing. _

Annabeth sighed. Percy sure was persistent. _I'm sitting at a hotel because my flight got cancelled. I'm not going to be able to fly home for a few days, _she texted. She wondered if Zach was thinking about her. If the fact that he'd only crossed her mind now was any indication, probably not.

Oh gods. What was she supposed to do about him?

Her phone chirped. _I know you probably won't want to, but I'm going to ask anyway. Do you want to spend Christmas with my family? I can drive you back home whenever your flight leaves._

Immediately, Annabeth's mind formed a list of pros and cons. It would be a good chance to make sure Percy was on board with the adoption idea, as well ask make sure he understood that he needed to go back home. Yet what if going with him sent the wrong idea?

On the other hand, she had nothing to do for the next three days, and she'd always liked Percy's mom.

A small smile formed on her face. If things went wrong, she could always chalk the whole thing up to a crazy hormonal mistake. _Sure_, she responded.

_Awesome! I got a rental car and I'm driving. I know it's snowing hard, but we'll be okay. Can you get a taxi to this address?_ Percy responded, giving her the address to what she assumed was a hotel in a part of town she wasn't familiar with.

Which was why she was surprised to end up at a huge brownstone apartment building. Maybe Percy had friends in Massachusetts.

The address had said he was on the top floor. What it hadn't conveyed was that the top floor was seven stories up, and the apartment didn't have a working elevator. Annabeth was panting by the time she reached the top floor.

She rang the doorbell, waiting impatiently.

A girl with a bush of red hair answered – wait, Rachel Elizabeth Dare? "Oh, Annabeth," she said. "Percy said you were coming."

"He didn't tell me this was your apartment," Annbath said coolly. "He didn't tell me he was staying with you, either."

A deep red blush crept into Rachel's face. "He's just, er, taking care of a few-"

"You're being so fucking stupid!" an unfamiliar voice shouted.

"Yeah, coming from the guy who-" Percy started to respond at an equal volume.

"Whatever. Do whatever the hell you want. I don't care."

"-last minute details," Rachel finished with a sight. Annabeth got the impression that this had been going on for a while. "Come on in."

The apartment was huge, and every bit of space was covered with art supplies, magazines, clothes, and other miscellaneous objects. Annabeth's father had offered to buy her an apartment at the start of college, but she'd insisted on getting the dorm experience. Still, the large area Rachel owned was making her jealous.

Grover was watching some reality TV show in the living room. Percy and a stranger were standing by the entranceway, looking only a few more insults away from strangling each other. "Hey, Annabeth. Are you ready to go?" Percy asked once he noticed her. "We should probably leave soon – the snow's getting pretty bad."

"Yeah, fine."

As Percy left, the stranger introduced himself. "You must be Annabeth," he said, sounding charming despite the fact that Percy had just called her by name. "Percy's girlfriend?"

"No, just…" she trailed off, not sure how to explain it.

"Stuck with him in an awkward situation?" The stranger smiled. "Been there, done that. Not with him though, of course. I'm John Oak." He held out a hand. "Here, let me hold your bag for you. It's a long walk up here."

The gesture was innocent enough, but Annabeth saw through it. "So Percy told you."

John shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with the whole starting a family thing early in the game."

"We're doing adoption."

"Whatever makes you happy, I suppose."

"But you don't think it's the right thing to do."

"I don't know, Annabeth. Like, I can't pretend to know you or your situation, but I'd be willing to bet you're scared as hell right now. And if I can tell you one thing from experience it's this – the decision you make out of fear is the one you'll regret."

Percy emerged from one of the bedrooms with a packed duffle bag. "Ready?" he asked, glaring at John. Annabeth wondered what they'd been arguing about before.

John handed Percy Annabeth's bag. "Make sure you make it home safe," he said, his words practically dripping with hidden meaning. Annabeth would have to ask Percy about him later.

"Nice meeting you, Annabeth," he said, giving her a warm smile before retreating to the living room, where Rachel and Grover were shouting at the characters on TV.

"He seems nice," Annabeth said on the way down to the ground floor.

"You have no idea what you're saying," Percy muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

_Notes: Not my favorite chapter. Things you can look forward to soon: some awkward Percy/Annabeth, Rachel dealing with a jealous Apollo, and perhaps a bit more of Thalia and Nico. Give me your thoughts, lovelies. _


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight  
><strong>**Tis the Season…**

_Have you heard the news that you're dead?  
><em>_No one ever had much nice to say.  
><em>_I think they never liked you anyway._

Rachel couldn't remember the last time she'd spent Christmas with her parents. They always opted to spend the holidays somewhere exotic, leaving their daughter to celebrate with the hired help.

Okay, there had been one year when Percy invited her to spend Christmas with his family, but she was _not_ going to reminisce about what had happened.

It was Christmas Eve, and she was spending it with a hot guy who was pretending to be her cousin. All things considered, it wasn't the worst situation she'd ever been in.

That was until she walked into the kitchen to make coffee and found Apollo sitting at the small table in the corner. He was pretending to leaf through one of her old sketchbooks, though his gaze was focused on the entrance to the living room.

Rachel cleared her throat, leaning against the doorway. "Can I help you?" she asked coolly.

Apollo jumped. "Geez, Rach. You act like I'm breaking and entering or something."

"I don't remember inviting you in," she said.

Apollo ignored her comment. "What about that guy you're living with now?"

So that was the reason for his visit. "His name's John, and he's not living with me. He's just…you know what? It's none of your business," Rachel said, glaring.

Apollo cocked an eyebrow. Rachel was certain she wasn't going to like what he had to say. "So when does it become my business? When you start sleeping with him?"

"Oh my God, Apollo. Just because we-"

"Is this a bad time?" John asked, poking his head in the door. He was carrying a few bags overflowing with groceries. "Because I can come back later and pretend I didn't see this."

This was one of the moments Rachel wished the earth would just open up and swallow her whole.

Apollo's eyes locked with John's. Rachel wished she could say something – anything to diffuse the growing tension.

"I suppose I should be going," Apollo said, getting up slowly. Before Rachel knew what was happening, he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her.

It wasn't exactly a small goodbye kiss, to say the least.

Of course, Apollo disappeared in a flash of gold light, leaving Rachel and John in one of the most awkward situations she'd ever been in.

John began unloading the grocery bags, seeming to take special care not to meet Rachel's gaze. "I didn't know what you like, so I got a little bit of everything," he said, pulling a giant ham out of the brown bag. "Okay, a lot of everything."

"How'd you pay for it?" Rachel asked, sitting down on the chair Apollo had occupied moments before.

"Your credit card. But don't worry – I didn't take your car. I walked."

The way he said it – without the slightest bit of sheepishness or regret – should have made the warning bells start ringing in Rachel's head. "So I guess you're planning on staying for Christmas," she said, trying to keep her feelings out of her voice.

"Unless your boyfriend's coming over," he said, reaching up to place a jar of seasoning in one of the cupboards. Rachel tried not to notice the way his shirt crept up, giving her a tiny glimpse of his tattoo.

"Not my boyfriend."

John just shrugged, his back still turned to Rachel. There seemed to be no end to the groceries. Once the first bag was empty, he asked her, "I take it you don't spend Christmas with your parents?"

"They're in Milan this year. In a few weeks, they'll come home and visit for a day. What's your story?" Rachel asked.

"I haven't really talked to my mom for longer than five minutes since I was nine. And my dad, well…I'm not sure if we're exactly on speaking terms." Rachel wasn't an expert on reading body language, but she was certain she saw him tense up. "I'm kind of an outcast on his side of the family."

Rachel wasn't sure how to best respond to that. "You're welcome to stay here…I mean, as long as you need to."

"You might regret your offer," John said, putting the last few items away. "I might not be leaving for a long time."

"Can you cook?"

"I'm decent."

"Then I don't think I'll mind."

John turned around, giving Rachel a smile. "Got a preference for what we'll eat tomorrow?" he asked.

She stood up as he walked towards her. He was just a few inches from her. His lips were just a few inches from…

God, she needed to get a grip.

John seemed like he had the exact same thought. He shook his head, taking a step back from Rachel. "So I just realized I forgot to buy myself some clothes. Is it cool if I borrow some more of your…I mean…" he trailed off, clearly uncertain of how he should refer to Apollo.

"Yeah, that's fine," Rachel said, fixing her gaze on the floor as John walked past her.

A few seconds later, she heard the shower turn on. _"And it's hard to dance with the devil on your back, so shake him off. Whooah,"_ John sang over the sound of the water.

* * *

><p>Annabeth wasn't sure why she'd thought it would be a good idea to spend Christmas with Percy.<p>

After ten minutes of driving with him, she was tempted to ask him to pull the car over so she could just walk back to her hotel. Percy had kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye, and he'd open his mouth like he was going to say something, but think better of it and stay silent.

Finally, he'd found the courage to speak to her. "We don't have to tell my mom anything if you don't want to," he'd said. "I'll just say we're friends and come up with something about how…I don't know, you couldn't fly out home because your plane was cancelled."

"That sounds fine," Annabeth said neutrally.

"I'm going to stay here in Massachusetts until you, you know…have the baby."

"What about school?"

"I talked to my teachers, and they're willing to let me do projects so I don't end up with incomplete grades for the semester – and then, I guess I'm dropping out for the rest of the year."

Annabeth couldn't understand how he could be willing to just forget about his classes. "How's your mom not going to notice that?"

"My dad's paying for school. She'll be happy I'm closer to home."

"Can I ask what the point of staying is?"

"I want to stay here for you."

That was the last thing he'd said on the awkward ride to New York. Things didn't get any better once they got to his house.

Sally ran outside as soon as the car pulled into the driveway. "You can stay in here if you want," Percy mumbled. "At least until I explain what's going on."

Annabeth agreed, wondering just what Percy was going to tell his mother. She could only guess what Percy had told his mom when they'd broken up – if it was anything like what she'd told her parents, Sally probably thought she was the spawn of Satan.

Sally looked from Percy back to Annabeth in the car, her lips moving soundlessly. Percy said a few words, which made Sally frown.

Annabeth had a feeling things weren't going well.

A few more minutes passed, and Sally finally retreated back to house while Percy walked back to the car. He opened the door for her, even offering a hand to help her out – a gesture which she made a point of ignoring. "What did you tell your mom?" she asked.

"She could tell something was wrong, Annabeth," Percy said, popping the trunk of the car and grabbing their bags.

"What did you tell her?" Annabeth repeated, a feeling of dread creeping in.

"That you're pregnant, but we don't know what we're going to do yet," Percy mumbled, handing Annabeth her bag.

"Percy!"

"I was going to have to tell her eventually. Unless you really didn't expect me to tell my mom that-"

"You don't get it, do you? Now that she knows, she's going to tell your dad, and then my parents, and pretty soon everyone will know."

"So what?" Percy demanded. "You can't honestly think you could keep everything hidden."

"Why not?"

Percy didn't have an immediate response. Instead, he headed for the house. "Well, Mom knows, so you might as well just try to make the best of it," he said before opening the door.

Sally had married Paul shortly after Percy turned 16. Shortly after, they'd had to buy a bigger home for their growing family. Located in a nice part of New York City, the two-story house was covered in pictures of Sally's two children.

And as soon as they walked in the door, a little girl ran to greet them, hugging Percy tightly even though she only came up to his knees. "Brother's home!" she squealed.

"Hey, Ellie. You've gotten big since I last saw you," Percy said, dropping his bags and picking her up.

"This many!" she said proudly, holding up two small fingers for her brother to see.

"Yeah? You're getting pretty old," Percy said, smiling at his sister, which made her erupt in a fit of giggles. "You remember Annabeth, right?"

"Anniebeth?" Ellie asked, her big brown eyes peeking over Percy's shoulder. Annabeth hadn't seen her since her first birthday party. "Down! Down!" she said, pushing against her brother, who gently set her down.

"Come see room!" she said, tugging on Percy's hand. Percy followed her, giving Annabeth a sheepish shrug as his sister pulled him down the hall.

Annabeth was left to awkwardly stand in the hall. She wouldn't go so far as to say she'd ever felt unwelcome in the Blofis home before, but at that moment, she wished she could be anywhere else in the world.

Sally emerged in the doorway to the kitchen. The look she gave Annabeth couldn't be described as cold, but it definitely wasn't the welcome one she was used to. "So you're pregnant," Sally said, her voice neutral. "Can't say I didn't see it coming – what was Poseidon thinking getting you two a condo for the entire summer?"

Annabeth felt like Sally was expecting an apology, though what she was supposed to say, she had no idea. "I, well…we're doing an adoption."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "Percy said you two didn't know what you're doing yet."

"Percy doesn't really have a say in it," Annabeth said, perhaps a bit too coldly.

Sally frowned. "I hope you've thought a lot about what you're doing, Annabeth. It's not something to decide – oh, hello!" she said as her daughter ran back into the room and hugged her leg, Percy close behind.

"Paul had to stay late at school to finish a few things," Sally said to her son. "He doesn't think he'll get home any time soon, but we were planning on telling you tonight…"

"Tell me what?" Percy asked.

"Bit sitter!" Ellie announced proudly.

Annabeth, clearly not as well-versed in baby talk as Sally and Percy, had no idea what the little girl meant. However, Percy seemed to understand completely. "You mean you guys are…" he trailed off, his mouth hanging open.

"That's right – we're expecting another baby at the beginning of August."

* * *

><p>Growing up, holidays had never been fun with an alcoholic of a mom. On the run with Luke and Annabeth, the days had all blurred together, so one was never more special than the other. But with Artemis, every holiday was cause for a huge celebration.<p>

Thalia could hardly stand it. She'd asked Artemis if there was anything she needed taken care of a few days before Christmas – lately, it wasn't uncommon for the goddess to send her on small tasks. Just a few days before, she'd been sent to California to investigate any strange activity.

Well, besides finding her cousin and his friend strangely close to the entrance to the Underworld, she hadn't noticed anything before Apollo came to pick her up.

But then again, Percy's friend seemed strangely familiar. Even after she'd been dropped off in Michigan, she couldn't shake his face. John Oak – the name didn't sound familiar, but she swore she'd seen his eyes before…

Artemis had noticed she'd been distracted over the last few days. When Thalia had requested a reason to be gone on Christmas, the goddess had given Thalia a look that made her feel like Artemis could see right through her.

"Take some time off, Thalia. Don't come back until you're ready," Artemis had told her.

And just like that, she'd been allowed to leave. A Hunter, but not a Hunter. Artemis was allowing her an unlimited amount of time to go and do whatever she needed to do.

And how did she choose to spend Christmas by herself?

In a graveyard, obviously.

She wasn't sure why she'd decided to visit him. Maybe because while they were on the run one Christmas, after a particularly nasty skirmish with some monsters, he'd promised that one day they'd be able to have a normal Christmas.

It wasn't like he'd ever kept any of his other promises, though.

Thalia had been alone for a while when there was a slight popping noise to her left. She was hardly worried, but she grabbed her spear all the same. "Who's there?" she called out, not taking her eyes off the tombstone.

"Spending Christmas in a cemetery alone?" She heard footsteps approaching her, but it was nothing to worry about. She recognized the voice – Nico di Angelo.

"Looks like you had the same idea."

"I'm a son of the god of the dead. It makes sense for me. Mind if I sit?"

Thalia shook her head. Nico took the seat next to her, holding a bag of fast food. "I had a feeling I'd find you here," he said.

Thalia suddenly realized that Nico was nearly the same age as her – physically, at least. She hadn't seen him for more than a few seconds in over three years.

"Did you visit your sister today?"

"Bianca's not buried anywhere. It was impossible, since she allegedly went missing 60 years ago." Nico paused briefly before continuing. "I've tried finding her in the Underworld, but she's gone. Maybe she's been reincarnated; maybe I just can't find her."

Thalia wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. "Do you think it's stupid to come here?" she finally asked.

_Luke Christopher Castellan. 1992 – 2010. _

"I don't think it's stupid," Nico said, handing her a burger from the bag. "Unless it makes you feel closer to him or some bull, because he belongs down in the Underworld, Thalia."

"I know, but…"

"So Artemis let you come here?"

"She kind of gave me an extended leave of absence."

They ate their food in silence for a while. Finally, Nico said, "Did you hear Annabeth's pregnant?"

"What?" Thalia asked, choking on the last bite of food she'd taken. "Annabeth and Percy?"

"Yeah, he went to Massachusetts to be with her and everything," Nico said.

"But I thought he was just going to spend the winter holidays with his family," Thalia said, remembering how she'd found him and his friend alone in the streets of Los Angeles. "Do you know anything about his new friend?"

"The John guy?"

"Yeah."

"Tons, but I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"He's a dead guy."

"Bullshit."

Nico laughed. "Told you so." He reached into the bag and pulled out a flask filled with something that smelled a little stronger than Kool-Aid. As the older, more responsible cousin, Thalia knew she probably should have told him to put it away, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"So what are you doing when you're not stalking graveyards on holidays?" Thalia asked as Nico handed her the flask. Artemis wouldn't approve, but what she didn't know wouldn't kill her.

"Want to find out?" Nico asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Nico shrugged. "Since you're not hanging out with Artemis and her gang anymore-"

"It's a temporary leave of absence."

"It doesn't matter to me. All I know is it gets lonely traveling alone."

Thalia could agree with that. "I guess so."

"So you'll come with me?"

"Sure."

Nico grinned. "Merry Christmas, cousin."

_Notes: I'm thinking the next chapter will be some more lovely Christmas drama. I really should have made this longer, but you guys deserve an update after so long. Long reviews are killer motivation. By the way, the song Luke's singing is Shake it Out by Florence and the Machine. Virtual cookies if you can get the significance. _


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